Students represent District 54 at state-wide Special Olympics youth summit

Posted November 14, 2016 10:00 pm

School District 54

Twenty students from five District 54 schools participated in the annual Special Olympics Illinois/Unified Champion Schools Youth Activation Summit in Peoria the weekend of November 12. In addition, six District 54 students were part of the statewide Youth Activation Committee that planned the Summit and gave all of the presentations.

During the Summit, students with and without disabilities worked together in pairs and in their school groups discussing social justice issues, discussing how to spread the word about respect, learning about Special Olympics and building partnerships. They also reflected on what their schools do well and what they could do better in order to spread respect and acceptance of all people.

"All of our committee members and summit participants positively represented District 54," said Kelly O'Reilly, District 54 Special Olympics Specialist. "They will continue working in their schools to plan respect campaigns and spreading all of the great information they received this past weekend."

Committee Members

• Aidan Toy (Frost) and Dominic Luzwick (Lincoln Prairie) - Getting the Word Out

• Calli Bessemer (Frost) and Amparo Lara (Frost) - Wrote and choreographed a respect song and taught it to the entire junior high/middle school group

• Angelina DiFrancisco (Mead) and Lilli Devereux (Mead) - Idea sharing presentation

• Staff Committee Advisors: Mindi Turf (ELC), Tara Koepke (ELC) and Joan Czarnecki (Frost)

The following Summit participants were nominated by District 54 staff to represent their schools:

Addams Junior High

• Jordan Rodriguez and Lilly Pasquarelli

• Staff Sponsor - Ann-Marie Cerny

Hanover Highlands Elementary School

• Lyubomyr Turchinyak, Braulio Aleman, Maritza Uriostegui, Sonali Sharma, Caitlyn Munoz and Makayla Schutt

• Staff Sponsor - Chelsea Wood

Frost Junior High

• Katelyn Fuller, Haley Marshall, Drew Funk, Maria Carmona, Tyler Rank and Adam Micholowski

• Staff Sponsor - Jessica Wheatley

Mead Junior High

• Oskar Dabrowski, John Zondlo, Sterling Williams, Marie Spare, Tim Hill and Kacie Bilicki

• Staff Sponsor - Melinda Andrews

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.